Conveyer misalignment signal



Jan. 12, 1954 J. w. HARDY CONVEYER MISALIGNMENT SIGNAL Filed Feb. 18,1950 n E 2 m M a wfi m km Q a 1M A. FM 5 I. v t mm M fr 6 j Q w I w wwmm %m.%\ 4 mm \\\WV 4 5 mm vm m 7 6 N I a RNJ| v @N Wm Rx Patented Jan.12, 1954 ounce PATENT OFFICE ,2.665,793 CONVEYER VMISALIGNMENT SIGNALJam s W- .H rdv. .Ghica m 1 1-. assi n t od- Maeafeeli Company, Ch ns aptm a i oi-l lmei Application February 18, 1950, Serial No. 145,031

This invention relates to conveyors of the .endless belt type and moreparticularly to means for generating a signal whenever the .belt:becoines misaligned with respect .to the frame.

A conveyor of this type generally employs an endless rubberlike beltsupported on rollers car..- ried in an elongated frame. The top strandor reach :i supported :in a trough-like configuration by meansof flatmiddle rollers and a pair of outer inclined rollers. The :bottom sti'andor reach is supported :on that rollers and is completely covered byametal shellxorshield to prevent spillage of materialonto it. flit-oftenhappens that such belt lconveyors are exposed to abusive serviceconditions :under which some ,oi the stands supportmg :thexrollers.become displaced, causing one edge or the other of the lower reach to.ride over laterally and rub against the displaced stand or stands.:Undersuph .conditionsan entirebelt can bedestructively.abradedandruined if the condition 'iiS not remedied. This is a serious problemduevtouthe.exnenseyand down-time involvedin repairing the-belt and thesituat on is aggravated y the afo t :that the lower rea i c ve d by the'shellwhich m st he removedheforelthe eggact location-Of he misalimenncan be d termined- It Wil,l {be readily apprcciate xtha qqatinga n-3. .6 219 LQ 'r ii alisn en "i a c nv yor. extendirig over severalhundred or several thousand eet can :be i a major job although normally,in underground mine conveyors and the l fl the repair .erewwillibgggllified by the probability that such misalignment has occurredat one or more of the l'oaiiing' stations.

It is, therefore, a principal tobjectofthe present invention to providea simple means for indicating misalignment of the lo'werreach as sjopnasylt occurs and "for indicatirjrgthe exact location of the misalignmentsoils may be corrected with a minimum of down-time and damage to thebelt.

Other objects and disadvantages will be seen in the followingdescription taken in connection with the figures of the drawing inwhich:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of a belt conveyor employing oneembodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse crosssectional view of Fig. 1 taken along the lines 2-2; and

Fig. 3 is a detailed enlargement of the portion of Fig. 2 showing thenovel signal means.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, a conventional beltconveyor, generally indicated 2|, is shown. The conveyor comprises iramemeans, generally indicated 22, and an end less rubber-like belt 23having an upper reach or strand 2.4 supported on .troughing rollers2.5.. 2-1, 2.6 and a lower reach 28 supported. .on ;hori zontal rollers29. The rollers are supported .0!!- that portion of th frame meanscomprisin in.- verted U-shaped stands 31 and framework ,3,2 carried atopthe stands. It will be noted rthat tlce middle troughing rollers 27 arehorizontal and the outer rollers 26 are inclined to impart atrough-like, load-carrying configuration to the upper reach while thelower reach is supported, at greater intervals, on the series of singlehorizontal rollers 29.

The frame means -.22 also includes a protect-M shell or cover meansgenerally indicated and consisting of a series oflongitudinally-abutting half she11s,.each made up ofa plate and rein;forcing angle member 35., the .latter bein :Divotally mounted at :itsopposite ends Orsucceeding stands '3 I. It .will .also1beobSlerved that.9 16 .Q the troughing roller groups 26, 1211, 261s supported atop theprotective .shell 3.3 between succeeding stands 3.].

So .far the system .described is-conventional.

Directing attention now to the novel misalignment indicatorgenerallydesignated 3], the,par, ticular embodiment shown comprises a U -Zsh la pas ,held by t umb sc ew tfl' nto wat rt call twalllof one, of the an lemembers ;.l6 at any desired location between standsfil fl. A nin Wardlyextending .rod t r ad il enga e in this instance with the clam lmt b 11'ctiqns asqa support forrotatable belhmean s 2;. -'I he latter, inthisinstance, is constructedin armors-, orrless conventional concavmcnve confi ure..- tion. :Nearits endfithe rod 4 ,isproyided with ashoulderaenga in @washerjld against whic bell .412 is assembled. .On a.red 'ced ,diam

the bell 42. Connected to the latter, by screws 48, for rotationtherewith, are a spacing washer 45 and a concavo-convex belt-engagingmember 46, all being held on the end of the rod by means of, Washer 50and nut 49. The belt engaging member 45 is efiective to rotatably drivethe bell when the former is engaged by the belt, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 3.

Another inward extension of the clamp 38 is indicated by the numeral 5|and carries at the end thereof a striker member 52 hanging loosely onlink 53 in striking engagement with an inner boss 54 formed in the bellmember. Thus it will be seen that upon relative rotation between thebell and striker a series of warning sounds or gongs will be emitteddrawing attention of 3 those in the vicinity to the fact that the belthas become misaligned with respect to the frame. The alarm will also fixthe exact point of misalignment. I

In use the alarm units 31 will be disposed on both sides of the conveyorand at intervals alon the length of the conveyor where it is consideredlikely that misalignment may occur. As a practical matter, for examplein underground work in mines, the greatest danger of misalignment occursat loading points where shuttle cars are repeatedly driven up to thebelt for discharge of their contents thereon. In many particularinstallations the alarm units may be installed only in the vicinity ofsuch loading points for the protection desired.

While I have described in detail a single embodiment of my inventionwhich I have found to be convenient and practical, I do not wish to beunderstood as limiting myself to the exact detailed construction shown,as obviously many structural changes may be made within the scope of myinvention. For example, while I have shown a stationary striker meansand a rotatable bell, obviously the reverse would functionsatisfactorily. Furthermore, while I have shown a unit which isrotatable responsive to engagement by the misaligned belt to generate anaudible signal, likewise a unit which moves in any other manner togenerate the signal would fall within the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a belt conveyor having upper and lower reaches of an endless beltsupported on rollers carried by a frame, said lower reach normallymoving in a preselected position spaced laterally from the sides of theframe, means for providing a signal indicating misalignment of the lowerreach of said belt comprising a support shaft mounted on said frame, abell and belt engaging means spaced from said bell and mounted forrotation on said support shaft when said belt engaging means contactssaid lower reach upon misalignment thereof, and a striker adapted tocontact said bell upon rotation of said bell whereby an audibleindication is given of misalignment of said lower reach.

2. In a belt conveyor having upper and lower reaches of an endless beltsupported on rollers carried by a frame, said lower reach normallymoving in a preselected position spaced laterally from the sides of theframe, means for providing a signal indicating misalignment of the lowerreach of said belt comprising a shaft mounted on said frame forsupporting belt engaging means adapted to contact said lower reach uponmisalignment thereof and to rotate on said shaft, and a bell havingstriker means cooperating therewith, said bell and said striker meansbeing supported by said shaft for rotation relative to each other uponrotation of said belt engaging means whereby an audible indication isgiven of misaligmnent of said lower reach.

3. In a belt conveyor having upper and lower reaches of an endless beltsupported on rollers carried by a frame, said lower reach normallymoving in a preselected position spaced laterally from the sides of theframe, means for providing a signal indicating misalignment of the lowerreach of said belt comprising a clamp secured to said frame, a supportshaft extending from said clamp, a bell and belt engaging means spacedfrom said bell and mounted for rotation on said support shaft when saidbell engaging means contacts said lower reach upon misalignment of saidlower reach, and a striker adapted to contact said bell upon rotation ofsaid bell whereby an audible indication is given of misalignment of saidlower reach.

4. In a belt conveyor having upper and lower reaches of an endless beltsupported on rollers carried by a frame, said lower reach normallymoving in a preselected position spaced laterally from the sides of theframe, means for providing a signal indicating misalignment of the lowerreach of said belt comprising a clamp secured to said frame, a shaftextending from said clamp for supporting belt engaging means adapted tocontact said lower reach upon misalignment thereof and to rotate on saidshaft, and a bell having striker means cooperating therewith, said belland said striker means being supported by said shaft for rotationrelative to each other upon rotation of said belt engaging means wherebyan audible indication is given of misalignment of said lower reach.

5. In a belt conveyor having upper and lower reaches of an endless beltsupported on rollers carried by a frame, said lower reach normallymoving in a preselected position spaced laterally from the sides of theframe, means for providing a signal indicating misalignment of the lowerreach of said belt comprising belt engaging means mounted to contactsaid lower reach upon misalignment thereof and to be rotated upon suchmisalignment, a bell and a striker therefor arranged for relativerotation with respect to each other upon rotation of said belt engagingmeans to give an audible signal indicating misalignment of said lowerreach.

JAMES W. HARDY.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,770,957 Veale July 22, 1930 2,075,111

Gulliksen et al Mar. 30, 1937

